Never Was Free
by Sandssavvy
Summary: Harry is with Sirius who has decided that he needs to face his fears by seeing Azkaban as a free man. They see someone there that they didn’t expect. AU. There will be slash.
1. Chapter 1

**Never Was Free**

By: _sandssavvy (AKA) DeppDRACOmaniac_  
Rated: PG 13  
Pairing: Harry/Draco: Post Hogwarts (slash, yaoi, m/m, man on man, boy love, must I continue?), RL/SB, RW/HG

Warnings: character deaths, angst, violence, abuse, and AUness.  
**Spoilers**: This story is after OotP and is AU because. . . SIRIUS LIVES! Also it will be more AU once HBP comes out. (I may incorporate some of the info in it into the story later though.) This is a POST-War fic.  
**Summary**: Harry is with Sirius who has decided that he needs to face his fears by seeing Azkaban as a free man. They see someone there that they didn't expect.  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own HP. Don't sue or I SHALL HUNT YOU DOWN WITH POINTY OBJECTS!

_**Prologue**_

It has been five months since the day that Harry Potter had saved the wizarding world. Five months since He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been killed, and all the cowards that had not been able to say his name even in private, had said Voldemort. I always laughed at this because although most fools considered this saying his name. It was only another pseudonym he had used to instill fear in others.

It has been four months since Sirius Black's name was officially cleared by the new minister of magic. It has been two and a half years since I was arrested as a Death Eater by the two aurors. I never had a trial, and there had never been proof, but there was an accusation. To them that was all they needed. There was no publicity on the trial, and most people didn't know what really happened to me.

Nobody visits me. To them I was just another tragedy of the war. In the end hardly anyone remembered me. After all when had they cared before? The only people who ever cared were either dead, or they didn't know where I was.

It has been a year since the last of the dementors had returned sensing Voldemort's end. It has been seven months since I gave up the last of my hope. It has been six months since I started to learn the meaning of madness.

My name is Draco Malfoy, and I am the boy who never was free.

tbc...


	2. A Hell of an Encounter

**Never Was Free**

By: _sandssavvy (AKA) DeppDRACOmaniac_  
Rated: PG 13  
Pairing: Harry/Draco: Post Hogwarts (slash, yaoi, m/m, man on man, boy love, must I continue?), RL/SB, RW/HG

Warnings: character deaths, angst, violence, abuse, and AUness.   
**Spoilers**: This story is after OotP and is AU because. . . SIRIUS LIVES! Also it will be more AU once HBP comes out. (I may incorporate some of the info in it into the story later though.) This is a POST-War fic.  
**Summary**: Harry is with Sirius who has decided that he needs to face his fears by seeing Azkaban as a free man. They see someone there that they didn't expect.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own HP. Don't sue or I SHALL HUNT YOU DOWN WITH POINTY OBJECTS!

_1st Chapter: A Hell of an Encounter_

Harry Potter was walking to the gates of Azkaban with his, now free, godfather Sirius Black. In a way Harry could understand his need to visit Azkaban as a free man. However, that did not stop him from fervently wishing that he had taken Remus with him instead.

In preparation for the visitors that came sometimes at this time of day the dementors had been moved to a different part of the island. This seemed to have little or no affect on the atmosphere of the prison. Fear and depression seemed to leak from it's very walls while the stones beneath their feet seemed to be frozen from age long exposure to dementors.

The sky was a gray overcast above the monstrous structure, and the fog that lingered along it's outside seemed to be connected to the building as though it was part of it. The mere sight of the building with it's cold pillars of stone in hues of black and grays could make the happiest of men feel trapped and utterly alone. There was no sign of wildlife on the island and the eerie silence seemed to cover it like a blanket. It was the most terrible place Harry had ever laid eyes on. He could only begin to fathom what Sirius had gone through in twelve years of this hell.

As Sirius and Harry stepped through the towering black gates there was a loud screech from it's rusty hinges. That sound seemed to reach deep inside of Harry as he was gripped with a sudden feeling of foreboding.

"Sirius maybe we shouldn't go inside. . . Couldn't we just leave?"

"If I back out now Harry I'll never face this."

"How is that a bad thing?" The emerald-eyed boy was silenced by the look of determination that was etched on his godfather's face. He sighed as he recognized that look as one that left no room for argument.

They tried to hurry inside of the forbidding structure as though that would make it seem less terrifying than they had previously thought at the gates. This idea was quickly squashed when they heard the sounds of the prisoners. Harry started to wished for the eerie silence of the island. It seemed that every time they went by a cell they were witnessing another person going through their own personal hell.

Harry soon wondered what they had done to deserve this punishment. How many would stay for life? How many would be freed eventually, but would live with a feeling of being an outcast as Sirius had done for so long? How many would go mad in this place? How many already had? How many just wished for the end? How many could actually deserve this? How many are innocent?

There were so many people in these gray walls. If a prisoner was lucky enough to have a window the light from it was so sparse and the view so horrible that they probably wished they had none. A feeling of depression seemed to be embedded in the walls as though the dementors were still there, and once in a while the Harry would catch a feeling or a thought that would very briefly take him back to the war. Back to the death and torment that still haunted his nightmares, and he knew that if he were in here too long he would relive his worst horrors even with the dementors absent.

As he turned to look at Sirius he realized that he felt it too. Remus told Harry once that it had been as though part of Sirius had died here, and he had only truly started to live again recently. The raven haired young man was worried for a moment that this trip may break Sirius' spirit. He supposed that he could only hope for the best.

As terrible as everything about this place was Harry, felt that nothing could compare to the prisoners. The poor wretches that screamed and begged for mercy in their cells. The whimpers, moans, and screeches. Some of the ones descending into madness and were muttering to themselves. There were many who stayed quiet and in their own world as if they were trying their own form of escape. Worst of all were the silent accusing stares of some of the others. Stares that blamed the free people for their sorry existence.

Harry recognized a few of the prisoners. Hell, he had helped put some of them in here. Marcus Flint the old Slytherin Quidditch captain was one of the ones who moaned and pleaded in the shadows. He had been captured during the war, but he was considered one of the lucky ones. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy along with Bellatrix Lestrange were given the dementor's kiss at the end of the war. As well as many others that had fought alongside Voldemort.

Harry and Sirius had by this time gone past so many prisoners that they were starting to become a blur of faces known and unknown. A giant mass of sad, forgotten, or unwanted souls.

Just when it seemed that they were coming to the end of their self-inflicted torment Harry stopped in shock, when he recognized the bored drawl that feel from the lips of a prisoner at the cell by his side.

"Never thought I'd see you in hell Potter."

tbc...

Well I hope you like the first real chapter. If you like it review. If you don't please leave constructive criticism.


	3. Eaten By Darkness

_Chapter 2: Eaten By Darkness_

"Never Expected to see you in hell Potter."

After Harry come out of his shock he let his eyes roam across the figure before him.

"Malfoy!" He exclaimed, his surprise evident by the pitch of his voice. His shock was easily justified by the fact that the man before him barely resembled the snide boy he had known at Hogwarts. His normally sleeked back and perfect platinum blonde hair was now messier than Harry's hair ever was. The lack of stylish robes which had been exchanged for the poorly made threadbare prison garments that clung to him now also dramatically changed his appearance.

However, the thing that startled and worried Harry the most wasn't his hair or his clothes. It was the fear, desperation, and confusion that seemed to shine in Malfoy's silvery-gray eyes. The fact that Malfoy flinched when Harry said his name did not go unnoticed either.

"Now the one and only," was Malfoy's venomous reply. The cruelty behind his words was ignored by Harry who was lost deep in thought.

When Harry and the rest of the students had gotten back to Hogwarts for their 6th year there had only been one student who was conspicuously missing. Draco Malfoy had never come back from summer vacation. The rumors ran wild, but it seemed as though nobody knew the truth. Snape who had always considered himself Malfoy's unofficial godfather had panicked and started demanding answers from Dumbledore. All of this was in vain and despite the panic and threats from Draco's friends and the tears from Pansy Parkinson he was never found.

Now staring at Malfoy it seemed that some of Harry's questions had been answered, but this left many more new ones. He was soon jerked from his memories though as his godfather elbowed him in the ribs.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at Harry's behavior. "Care to introduce us?" He asked quietly with his eyes trained on the blonde haired boy before them.

Harry rolled his eyes at Sirius knowing that he had already guessed who the prisoner is.

"This is Draco Mal-"

"Just Draco now." Interrupted man before them. "I was disowned over two years ago."

Harry's mouth fell open at this. Why would his parents do that? If he was in here didn't he grow up the way they had wanted? Harry turned to see that Sirius' reaction was similar to his. Although he did not drop his mouth open.

After Sirius recovered he gave the boy a searching look as he questioned him.

"Why would Lucius and Narcissa disown their only son? That would end the Malfoy line."

Harry himself was growing more confused as he watched, Mal- no Draco, flinch at the mention of his father's name and what had been his own last name.

Draco moved closer to the bars as some of the fear left his eyes.

"They decided that having no heir was better then having me as a son." While he said this his eyes seemed to narrow as he clenched his hands around the bars. "They didn't want a son who opposed their beliefs. They didn't want a failure as a son. My father always loved to remind me of what a failure I was. The weak link in the Malfoy line."

By now he seemed to be caught up in his memories, so Harry tried to change the subject. Though he couldn't say that the new topic would be any nicer. Hopefully it would bring Draco out of the painful memories he was lost in.

"How long have you been here?" Harry hoped he wasn't going to hit some unforeseen boundary by asking this question.

This question caused Draco to look up. "One of the guards told me the date a few days ago. I suppose it's been two years and six months."

Before this information could sink in Harry blurted out. "A _dementor _told you the date?"

At this Draco seemed to come back to his old snaky self for a moment. "Of course not you idiot. One of the human guards told me the date." He rolled his eyes as though thinking 'why must Potter inflict his ignorance upon me?' before he continued. "Honestly Potter. How do you think we get food here? If dementors gave it to us the food would be frozen."

Harry ignored the malice in Draco's voice in favor of going over this new information in his head. Draco was disowned around the time that he was thrown in Azkaban over two years ago. He also flinched whenever he heard the words "Malfoy" or "Lucius". Harry was beginning to think that the more questions he asked, the more he would have.

Harry snapped out of his musings as Sirius spoke up again. "How could you have been brought into Azkaban when you were only fifteen years old? You were underage!" Sirius winced as he heard his shout bouncing off the walls mocking him.

"Fudge was trying to stay in control, so the ministry was on the deatheater hunt to gain popularity. Besides it didn't matter what age you are when somebody accuses you of being a death eater while the wizarding world is at war this is where you end up. They turned a blind eye to the fact that there are no fifteen-year-old deatheaters."

By this time Draco had replaced the look on his face, which had been painfully sincere, with his old mask. The cold expression that had hidden his true emotions while he was in public. Harry was sure that underneath the mask Draco was being eaten alive by old memories.

"Well. . ." said Harry in an effort to cheer his old arch rival up. "Maybe we could pull the file on your case. I know Snape and Pansy won't rest until your free if we tell them what happened." He began to wonder why he cared what happened to Draco, but decided that whatever wrongs Draco had committed as a boy, they weren't worth this punishment.

Sirius smiled at this, "That would definitely cheer the old snake up."

Draco ignored Sirius as he stared at Harry. His mask had fallen again, and he now he had pure joy written across his face.

"Severus and Panse are ok?"

Harry smiled in return. "Yeah, but they really miss you. They'll visit you for sure once they know where you are."

Their discussion was ground to a halt however as one of the human guards came up and told them that visiting-hours were over and they had to leave.

Harry turned to Draco while the guard made an impatient noise. "I'll come and visit you again soon ok?"

Draco nodded although it was clear by his expression that he didn't believe that Harry would come again. His eyes were sad and the fear that he had seen earlier was returning. The emerald eyed man realized now that Draco was afraid that that they would leave him here before, and it was scaring him that he would be alone again now.

Before Harry could reassure him he was being ushered out by the guard.

Sirius however stayed behind in an effort to cheer up the depressed young man. "Don't worry we don't have a choice. We'll have to help _and _tell Snape or he'll find out and boil us in his cauldron." He joked attempting to sound lighthearted. He earned himself a small sad smile from the boy before they left.

Then they were gone.

Draco backed away from the bars and retreated to a corner of his cell as the darkness started to close in on him. Soon the room was cold again with the presence of a hundred dementors. He started to forgot where he was as he gripped his blanket with frigid fingers. The darkness was surrounding him, on him, inside of him, swallowing him. Then just when the darkness should have been complete he was launched into a thousand awful nightmarish realities. He was helpless in his hell.

----

Remember everytime you forget to review Draco goes into denial about his sexuality!


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